Swept Away By Floods, 18-YO Orphan Girl From Chhattisgarh Finds A Home With Her Rescuers In Odisha
The mighty river Mahanadi, now a flashpoint in the water-sharing dispute between Chhattisgarh and Odisha, has given a summary lesson in bridging divides as only a force of nature can.
Eighteen-year-old Soni Yadav, an orphan working as a domestic help in Sarangarh town of Chhattisgarh, had gone to the Chandrapur temple with her friends on Tuesday.
As she tried to wash herself in the Mahanadi, Soni slipped and fell into its swirling waters and was swept away instantly. Battling the currents for 12 gruelling hours, she was rescued by fishermen 70km away in Jharsuguda in neighbouring Odisha.
TOI
The near-death experience has gifted her a new life though. Sonu now wants to live with the fisherman's family which saved her. And the family, with three sons, is eager to adopt a daughter.
It's a miracle that she survived after being in water for hours through the night. We took Soni to Sarangarh on the spot and recorded her statement. But, instead of staying back with the family she worked for, she returned to the fisherman's family in Odisha," Sarangarh inspector R K Mishra said.
aryaputras/ Representative Image
Soni told police that she slipped and fell into the river while splashing water on herself. She tried to grab something to hold on to, but the current was too strong. "Soni said she doesn't remember anything thereafter as she lost consciousness," said Mishra. After she was rescued, she was admitted to a hospital and later discharged as there were no injuries.
"Soni had lost both her parents and was being looked after by her grandparents and mother's sister.On Tuesday, she told the family she works for that she wanted three days' leave to visit some temples with her friends. At Chandrapur temple, she went near the river alone while her friends were waiting for her at a distance," said Mishra. "I got a call from Rengali police station in Jharsuguda district in Odisha who told me that a girl was rescued by fishermen at Kusmel village."
